DERVAL O'Rourke cruised through her 60m hurdles heats at the European Indoor Championships in Gothenburg to earn an automatic semi-final slot.

Despite a false start in the first heat which saw France's Alice Decaux disqualified, the Leevale star managed to keep her cool and finished second in a season-best 8:05 seconds.

She got the best start in her heat and the only one faster than her was double European outdoor champion Nevin Yanit who won it in 8:01.

Third behind O'Rourke was former European indoor champion Eline Berings (Belgium) in 8:08 and their heat was also the fastest , which looks promising for this evening's semi-final (15.20 Irish time) and final (18.55 Irish time).

The sprint hurdlers have a particularly tough schedule as all three rounds are being run today with the final at 6.55 but, after her first heat O'Rouke said: "I don't mind that, I haven't had many races this season so that actually suits me well and I'm just looking forward to getting back out there later."

Irish Independent Sport Star Awards

Pick our magic sports moment of the year and win a trip for two to London. To view the shortlist and cast your vote click here.